Chapter 200
Unknown.
A chill swept down my spine.
Neither of us moved for a moment. Then, with a sharp inhale, Alex swiped to answer and put the call on speaker.
The moment the line connected, a voice slithered through.
“Well, well,” the voice drawled, slow and mocking. “From the sound of it, that must be Alex.”
My stomach twisted violently.
Nathan.
I gripped the edge of the table to keep myself up, my knees wanting to buckle out from under mé.
Alex’s face set in stone. “Where’s Faith?” he bit out, his voice like steel.
Nathan gave a low laugh. “Not even a hello? Manners, Alex. Where’s pretty boy? Is he too drunk to come to the phone?”
Alex’s hand tightened around the phone. “If you want someone to talk to, you talk to me.” His voice was controlled, but I could almost hear the fury seething beneath it. “Now tell me where the hell is Faith?”
Nathan let out a dramatic sounding sigh. “I really don’t like your tone, Alex.”
“I don’t give a damn what you like,” Alex barked. “If you’ve hurt her—‘
“Relax,” Nathan cut in. “She’s alive… for now.”
I thought I was going to vomit.
Alex’s body went rigid beside me, every muscle wound to breaking.
“What do you want?”
Silence.
Then Nathan’s voice dropped again, darker.
“A little birdie told me Raina’s back home.”
My blood went icy.
I could feel Alex’s gaze on me, but I couldn’t look away.
Natan laughed again, as if he could hear my fear through the phone. “Now, that’s interesting, isn’t it? You just couldn’t stay away,
I swallowed hard, my whole body paralyzed in place.
Nathan hummed. “Here’s how this is going to work. I want her. And only when I get her will I let Faith go.”
The air in the room became suffocating.
“No,” Alex said immediately. His voice was crisp, unyielding. “That’s not happening.”
Nathan laughed again, a slow, taunting sound. “Oh, come on. Don’t act surprised. You knew this was coming.”
My fingers curled into my palms, nails digging into my skin.
“You know what to do,” Nathan said smoothly. “Don’t keep me waiting.”
Then-
The line went dead.
A hollow silence filled the room. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Nathan wanted me.
Faith had been kidnapped because of me.
The knowledge was a ton of bricks, stealing the breath from my lungs.
My sight dimmed at the corners, the thump of my heart beating in my eardrums.
could
you,
Raina?”
1/2
Choper 200
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Alex wheeled around, his jaw clenched so tight I was pretty certain he was going to crack his teeth. “No,” he bit out, launching a step closer. “You’re not doing that. Don’t even think about it.”
I didn’t say a word.
Because I was already thinking about it.
Nathan wasn’t bluffing. He had Faith. And if I didn’t do something, she could-
No.
I couldn’t let that happen.
Alex’s voice muttered a curse. “Raina-”
I whipped around, my legs moving before I could register what I was doing. I strode down the hall to my room, my steps fast, my breathing erratic.
“Raina, stop!” Alex’s voice called out behind me, but I didn’t look back.
As soon as I got in, I closed the door behind me, locking it.
My heart pattered like a savage drum while I leaned back against the wood, palms trembling.
It was either me or Faith.
My eyes slipped shut as I gasped under the weight of this choice.
I didn’t want to fall into Nathan’s hands.
But neither could I allow Faith to suffer because of me.
I splayed a palm over my chest to still the stuttering rise and fall of my breaths.
What the hell was I going to do?
